


Table for Two

by Orangeplum



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: M/M, and kinda falls in love and he doesnt know what to do oops, venom learns a lot about the world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 05:41:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16402370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orangeplum/pseuds/Orangeplum
Summary: You have been in love, Eddie.“Uh-huh,” he replies. His voice has an odd twinge to it, almost dismissive, that has Venom intrigued.What is that like? To be in love?-- Venom catches feelings.





	Table for Two

**Author's Note:**

> Still on a kick with these two. Gotta love 'em.

Venom doesn’t know much about humans.

His time on Earth has been brief, and his experiences with their cultures and customs even briefer. He’s a sponge, hitchhiking under Eddie Brock’s skin, eager to absorb and learn now that he’s decided to make a home here.

Eddie tells him San Francisco is as good a place as any to witness the different plethora of people the world has to offer. Even from a distance, Venom can tell Eddie is telling the truth. From men in suits to colorfully dressed musicians playing outside of the train stations, humans truly are a thing to visually wonder at.

The first month, he nearly talks Eddie’s ear off, a seemingly never ending stream of questions. Eddie does his best to satiate his curiosities, but even he has a limit.

“It just is” and “Because I said so” become his new catchphrases, usually accompanied with folding his pillow over his ears or turning the television up.

When Eddie says this, Venom knows he must give his host some mandatory silence, which is likely to be accompanied with a little brooding on his own part. 

Where he can’t learn through Eddie (“Listen, buddy. I don’t know everything, and my opinions on some things make me a little biased. You should look it up yourself.”), he learns through the internet- through T.V. and radio and books.

Eddie doesn’t keep a lot of reading material in their apartment, much to Venom’s chagrin. There is a thesaurus and a few novels with shirtless men and helpless women draped across their chests with a turbulent ocean in the background, but other than that, Venom is unimpressed with the lack of books Eddie owns.

“Those are Anne’s,” Eddie explains in a rush, his face flushing scarlet when Venom asks him about it. “She forgot to take them. They’re not mine- I haven’t read them.”

Venom doesn’t understand why Eddie looks so uncomfortable, refusing to look at the paperback covers for more than a few seconds at a time. It only piques his curiosity, so he reads them when Eddie drifts off to sleep early for a change.

He likes the books. He reads them until the sun comes up, then sneaks them under the bed when Eddie starts to rouse; before he can see. It’s strange, but it makes him feel a bit giddy, knowing he has a secret of his own.

There should be no secrets between them. They’re the perfect union which doesn’t exactly allow for any separation of any kind. But Eddie keeps secrets from him, too. It bothers him, but when he skirts too close to certain subjects, Eddie makes sure to keep his mind from showing him what he’s hiding.

And besides, it’s just a book. There’s no harm in reading a story.

Action and adventure - those are things Venom can understand. It excites him, when he and Eddie stop a bad person from doing harm on the nights he’s allowed to eat and sate his hunger. When Eddie’s blood is pumping, sweat between his shoulder blades, and his heart racing, Venom can’t help but soak the sensations in. They’re exhilarating.

Romance, however, that is a construct that leaves the symbiote at a loss. The things the couple do in the book, the poetic descriptions of yearning and passion -Venom stares at the pages, unsure of what to think.

He feels a draw to Eddie, but that is with all of his kind. To want a host and to bond with them, that seems natural. How the woman in the book describes her feelings for the man, now that is something that eludes him.

Venom, ever curious, tries to learn more about romantic love from Eddie’s laptop. He pulls up articles and reads blogs, wanting to understand the emotional experiences humans share with each other. Is it merely a chemical reaction in the brain, or is there more to it? How does one choose who they fall in love with?

“Do I even want to know why you’re looking at this stuff?” Eddie asks one day, causing Venom to feel an instinctual jolt of alarm. It’s followed quickly by mortification, which has the crinkles softening around the corners of his eyes.

In hindsight, it’s probably smarter to clear his search history when he’s done exploring the internet.

 **The human mind is complicated. We want to know all about it** , Venom explains. 

Eddie closes his laptop and puts it back on the table. He moves to put his coat on, ready to do another late night stroll that’s become part of their weekly routine. Venom likes San Francisco at night. The lights are entrancing and it’s quieter in the neighborhoods Eddie takes him down, unlike his own chaotic squallor.

“Good luck with that,” Eddie laughs, locking his apartment door. He pockets his keys and takes the stairs outside. “We’re humans and we haven’t even figured out all of how we work.”

Venom gives a hum of contemplation.

**You have been in love, Eddie.**

“Uh-huh,” he replies. His voice has an odd twinge to it, almost dismissive, that has Venom intrigued.

**What is that like? To be in love?**

He senses Eddie’s hesitation as he walks briskly down the street. The air by his lips is cloudy. It’s been getting colder now that winter is upon them. Eddie swallows a few times and Venom waits patiently for him to respond.

Eddie can’t seem to find the right words. Instead, he drags images across his mind, quick and frantic. The flurry is almost too fast for Venom to latch onto. Anne’s face, smiling, illuminated in the glow of a dimly lit restaurant. The smell of her perfume as Eddie places his face in the crook of her neck, chasing her into slumber. Seasons, warm and cold, sundresses and warm hands in his. Feeling lightheaded, filled to the brim with delight, stealing the air from Eddie’s lungs and making him feel weightless.

The lurch of his stomach bottoming out as she hands him a ring. A look of betrayal marring her face falls like a gavel, loud and final, in his mind, cutting the images to a dead halt.

The echoes of Eddie’s memories makes Venom feel raw, like all of his nerves are exposed. He trembles beneath warm skin, vibrating with the cocktail of feelings that were just thrust upon him.

Soon, they disentangle and he can separate from what is Eddie and what is Venom.

 **Terrifying** , Venom rumbles, the sudden urge to wrap around Eddie’s torso and squeeze a powerful desire.

Eddie gives a noise of acknowledgment, coughing uncomfortably into his hand.

 **Being in love can hurt you** , Venom states. In all the movies and in the book, love is painted as a euphoric balm, not the cold, agonizing sensation soaking into Eddie’s heart. **Trivial. Why would you humans put yourself through that?**

The vestiges of Anne and Eddie’s failed relationship still linger, even when they bonded together for the first glorious time. He does not, however, fully understand why there is a weight that never seems to go away about Eddie’s person. To risk the height of happiness for a petty interview with Drake, he must be the king of the doofuses.

“Did you just call me a doofus?” Eddie blurts in disbelief.

**Are we wrong?**

Eddie snorts humorlessly, but the sound is still endearing to his companion. Eddie hunches his shoulders into the collar of his coat and enters the park.

“Keep it up, smartass. Besides, being in love’s not all bad. There’re some really good times when you have it,” he explains. Venom remains skeptical.

**It does not seem conducive to one’s mental health. To feel good for a moment, just to risk feeling torn apart at any given minute. We do not see the merit.**

Eddie’s voice is soft when he mutters, like he’s telling a personal secret to Venom and only him. It makes him tremble, the contentment that suddenly trickles down in Eddie’s chest.

“The risks are totally worth it, bud. Take my word for it. I’d risk it any day of the week.”

**You really are a doofus, Eddie.**

Eddie gives a bark of laughter, throwing his head back. Venom likes the sound of it. He should laugh more.

\--

“Beef or turkey?”

He holds up two T.V. dinners, the packaging covered in ice chips that leave his skin pink. Venom doesn’t know why he even bothers asking him these questions. In the end, dead meat is just dead meat.

 **Beef** , Venom supplies.

“Seriously? It’s Thanksgiving. Aren’t you supposed to pick turkey?” Eddie says, but he deposits the meal into the basket hanging from the crook of his elbow, regardless.

 **We want MEAT** , he reiterates insistently. To Eddie, though, it sounds more like a kid whining than it does an alien trying to sound threatening.

“This is meat.”

**_Alive_ meat. **

Eddie sighs through his nose when Venom gives a yell of dissatisfied disgust when he puts a can of corn into the basket. It would be funny if it wasn’t kind of really pathetic.

“Look, I’ll meet you halfway. Death by chocolate for dessert,” he placates, meandering into the bakery section where he knows they’ll have a triple chocolate cake. Venom grows silent, almost as if he doesn’t want to give in to Eddie’s obvious bribe. He knows he doesn’t stand a chance when the symbiote buzzes under his skin as his nostrils are flooded with warm sugary scents.

Hook, line, and sinker.

“You’re going to give me diabetes, you know that, right?” Eddie smiles, grabbing one of the chocolate cakes and putting it with his other meager food items. He looks up and ducks his head when he sees a woman side-eyeing him suspiciously.

He could really do without the whole being stared at for talking to himself thing.

 _She wouldn’t understand_ is a feeling Venom throws at him.

He swirls happily under his jacket sleeve as they pay, so that’s something at least. **We would never do anything to jeopardize our health, Eddie** , Venom says, like he’s stupid. **We keep us running at optimal condition. Nothing to worry about. We take care of us very well.**

“And the people thank you for your service,” Eddie says, exiting the shopping mart.

**Why would they do that? We have not told anyone about our union.**

“It’s a joke.”

**Oh.**

It has been months, but it still feels a bit self-conscious when he can’t understand certain things Eddie says. It’s like he feels stupid, out of the loop. He wants to understand, but some things, like jokes and sarcasm, elude him from time to time.

Eddie notices the random mood drop but doesn’t say anything. Venom can sense his concern.

**Isn’t Thanksgiving a holiday to spend with family and friends?**

“Uh, yeah. Mostly.”

**So why are we spending it alone? Do you not have any friends?**

“Wow. Rude.” Eddie scoffs, sniffing distractedly and juggling the grocery bags in his hands as he opens his apartment building’s lobby door. “I didn’t have much time to make friends when I worked. I was always really busy, plus I had Anne. I moved from New York, too, so everyone I knew is still back there.”

Venom likes it when the building is empty. He likes it when Eddie can talk freely to him, not whispering to himself like he’s something to be ashamed of.

 **Is Anne not your friend? And the doctor?** He says the word doctor like it leaves a rancid taste in his mouth. It makes Eddie grin that lopsided smile of his, though, so Venom doesn’t take it back.

Eddie’s smiles are like sunlight.

“Thats. Complicated. She asked if I wanted to come to dinner but,” he breaks off with a garbled, noncommittal noise as he rolls his head on his shoulders. “I can think of a lot of better ways to feel sorry for myself. Like eating corn out of a can alone in my apartment.”

**You are not alone. You have us.**

Eddie pauses opening his door, as if he’s considering this. Venom doesn’t know why. The conclusion is obvious.

“I guess that’s true,” he mutters. He says it weird, but Venom doesn’t push it.

Thanksgiving on the television is long tables and a plethora of faces, all smiling and laughing and talking. He doesn’t know what the fuss is.

Eating cake in sweatpants on Eddie’s bed while he regales his more exciting reporter exploits with animated gusto is just as good to Venom.

\--

Eddie told him when they first met that there are good people and bad people in the world. This notion, he’d informed him, would get easier to differentiate over time. To spot a bad person in a sea of good ones would be like second nature.

“You just gotta have practice. People watch,” Eddie had said.

Venom has spent months people watching, looking for good people and bad people. He feels more confident now, with Eddie’s help, telling the difference.

So Eddie’s anger is an unwanted emotion lashing out like a caged animal inside of him when Venom forces him like a puppet very quickly down the street. Cars honk at him and he narrowly avoids getting clipped by one that spikes Eddie’s heartbeat.

The fool. He would never let anything hurt him.

“Stop- _Stop_!” Eddie yells, attempting to dig his heels into the cement. “I said stop already!”

Venom huffs, beelining for an alleyway. It smells like piss and doesn’t look much better, but in the darkened back corner, at least they’ll have the privacy so Eddie won’t get stared at. He knows how much he doesn’t like being stared at.

He makes a noise as his back is shoved harshly against the brick of the building behind him, a scowl on his face for being manhandled so harshly.

“What the hell is your problem?” he demands breathily, his words tense. 

Venom bubbles up to the surface, materializing a face from his collarbone and looming over Eddie menacingly. Eddie flinches but doesn’t recoil.

 **We are protecting you** , he booms. The material of his lips peel back over the rows of teeth in a snarl. Why is he being questioned? Why can’t Eddie _see_? Is he _blind_?! 

Stupid man.

Eddie returns his scowl, despite being a bit shaken by the energy radiating off of the inky mass of teeth and eyes.

“Where? Where is the threat?” he asks, feeling claustrophobic. Venom keeps him forced to the wall, blocking the alley’s exit. His presence is almost domineering and he can’t figure out why.

“The dog? Are you threatened by the dog?” Eddie breathes in disbelief, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline as he recalls the pleasant conversation he’d just been dragged away from.

Or, at least, he’d thought it was pleasant. A woman and her doberman struck up a conversation with him outside of a restaurant. She’d made him laugh, but her dog had growled at him. He doesn’t know the details of it, but it seems that animals pick up on Venom’s presence more than humans.

Eddie cards his fingers roughly through his hair. “The dog wasn’t going to bite me, man. We’ve been shot at before. I cannot believe you’re worried about dogs now . . .”

 **She was a bad person** , Venom vehemently insists. Eddie jumps, his eyes going large and almost frightened for one heartachingly long second when Venom gets in his face. **She was a bad person and needed to leave!**

“She was bad for having a _dog_?” Eddie questions, not even trying to hide how ridiculous this all sounds.

**Stop fixating on the dog! We do not care about her dog.**

“Well, you’re acting just like one.” Eddie stick his hands out and pushes against the formless body in front of him, a pulsing torso and neck that keeps circulating into each other like a riptide. Venom shoves him back in retaliation. “Real mature.”

 **We are no pet** , Venom asserts, anger licking at Eddie’s insides now.

“I never said you were.”

**You _just_ said- **

“It was scared of you. Sometimes,” Eddie starts, getting frustrated with himself and running his hands over his face. He starts again, calmer this time, “Sometimes animals feel stuff we can’t. Like if an earthquake is coming. They get scared and loud and get the hell out of Dodge. He knew you were there and got spooked, that’s all. He just wanted to protect her, like you’re doing to me right now. I know you’re not a dog. But you went way over the top for this. I don’t want you throwing my body around.”

Venom’s anger stays warm inside of Eddie’s gut, but his form recedes a bit. He’d think he’s being bashful if not for the fact that he can feel his emotions right now. 

He’s upset, but he feels justified.

“Get off me,” Eddie demands. Venom doesn’t move for a long moment, tracing the hardened lines around his mouth, the stern look in his eyes with his gaze. Slowly, the black melts away, disappearing beneath his skin.

Their hurt mixes together until they can’t tell one apart from the other; Eddie for the sudden outburst, and Venom for a reason he won’t divulge.

Eddie pushes at Venom’s thoughts, trying to pry like he does so constantly to him, but there’s no give. Venom not so subtly tells him to fuck off in so many words.

“Glad to,” Eddie grumbles, readjusting his jacket and exiting the alley.

Venom is quiet the entire way home. And only when Eddie falls asleep and he’s granted the rare time of solidarity, or the closest thing to it their bonded souls can have, does the symbiote finally allow himself to feel ashamed.

Jealousy.

When did he become so capable of the feeling? Is he not above that?

He’s always been protective of Eddie. He’s his host. He needs to keep him safe. His desire to coexist with Eddie has always been strong.

This is different, he thinks. There was no threat. A dog and a woman are no match for him even if they were. Venom sinks lower into Eddie, trying to hide away at the traitorous sensation taking hold of him.

She’d made him laugh. Together, next to her, Eddie looked normal. He didn’t even know her- doesn’t even remember her name now. Venom becomes drunk on the agony of his outburst. Does it take really anyone to become special to Eddie? To garner his attention like that?

Venom doesn’t care for the human anatomy, but by Eddie’s memories and the way he notices people looking at him as he people watches, Eddie must be physically more desirable than the average man.

The woman’s face as she heard laughter rumble up from Eddie’s throat was painted the same color as the desire described in the book under their bed. She’d reminded him, then, of the memories of Anne he had been shown months ago.

The panic that gripped him was icy, almost hypothermic at the idea of Eddie inserting another woman into his life; _their_ life. Is it even possible to coexist with another being competing for his host’s attention? 

Will Eddie stop talking to him out loud for fear of being stared at by her? Will she disagree with Eddie’s compromise to eat the awful people if she tastes their late night secrets on his tongue afterwards? Will she be OK with no more privacy, Venom always ever present, watching the world from Eddie’s eyes?

Marriage and children and change. He is not ready to have someone upturn their life like this. He won’t allow some nameless, faceless hypothetical being to have that much control over him.

He does not like this new feeling. Jealousy.

It scares him.


End file.
